MARY NELSON says she feels like a prisoner in her flat as she has no way to get down three flights of stairs to the ground floor since the lift in her block broke.

Looking through the window is Mary’s only way of seeing the outside world (Photo: Caters)

Share

Get daily updates directly to your inbox

Thank you for subscribing!

Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email

A DISABLED great-gran aged 82 has been kept prisoner in her flat for almost a week – by a broken lift.

And housing bosses have told Mary Nelson and her neighbours the faulty part could take weeks to fix.

Mary was playing bingo with her pals last Wednesday when the lift broke. She can only walk with sticks after a hip replacement but had to drag herself up three flights of stairs to get home.

She said: “It took forever clinging to the banister. I couldn’t even see when I got to the top.

“The fire brigade had to come and get one man who lives here because he couldn’t be helped up.

“I haven’t been downstairs since. I feel like a prisoner.”

Mary can’t get out on her mobility scooter and feels like a prisoner at home (Photo: Caters)

Mary’s son James, 56, said many elderly residents in the four-storey block in Overnewton Street, Yorkhill, Glasgow, were feeling the effects of being stuck in their homes.

He added: “It’s an absolute scandal that it could take this long.

“A lot of these people have hospital appointments, dental appointments, opticians’ visits, and they need to get out for their shopping. I can get things for my mother but she hates being stuck in – and it’s not fair that she is.

“I understand they might need a spare part, but 14 days means most of the people here won’t get up or down at all in that time.”

Mary’s landlords, Yorkhill Housing Association, wrote to her and her neighbours last Thursday to warn that the lift could be out of action for 14 working days – almost three weeks.

Yesterday, the association said they very much regretted the disruption and hoped to have the lift working by the end of this week.

They said they checked on old folk in the block before the holiday weekend, arranged extra warden cover, contacted relatives and carers and got in touch with other service providers “where appropriate”.